Loosen-Yer-Belt Thanksgiving Turkey Stuffing
Stymied at being able to replicate my mom's cornbread stuffing, we have developed this recipe - enough to stuff a big bird & have an additional dish to bake outside the bird. We make such a big batch because the dressing is DECIMATED fast& we get so many requests for the recipe from guys & gals!! This is sagey - if you are not a sage lover, reduce it to 1 tsp. The currants do not make it sweet but add a lovely nuance as do the pecans, water chestnuts & cranberries. Can be made vegan with omission of eggs, butter & vegetable broth used instead of chicken broth - turns out almost as well. Mix in a BIG mixing container to keep the stuffing light & fluffy with addition of liquids. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! Note - I do all the chopping a night or two BEFORE Thanksgiving & store in Ziploc in the fridge to speed this up on Thanksgiving am. Then I can wake up more before I start welding a knife! LOL! *****program inserts "prepared" before stuffing but I mean 16 ounces dry weight, eg. 1 package, dry.
INGREDIENTS
Nutrition- 16
- 16ounces Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing
- 4
- 3
- 1
- 3
- 1 1⁄2
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1tablespoon dried rosemary
- 2teaspoons dried thyme
- 1teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
- 3
- 5cups chicken broth
- 4
DIRECTIONS
- In a BIG bowl, add both bags of stuffing mix.
- Chop the onions, celery, water chestnuts (coarse chop), pecans, cranberries & parsley and combine with the stuffing mixes in the BIG bowl.
- Toss with your hands to mix well.
- Add sage, rosemary, thyme, pepper & toss again.
- Break eggs into a smaller bowl. Whisk to mix until uniformly yellow.
- Add 2 cups of chicken broth to eggs & mix.
- Melt 2 ounces of butter & mix into eggs & broth (do not melt butter too hot or it'll cook eggs).
- Pour eggs & butter broth into BIG bowl of stuffing mix & gently mix with your hands (No Smushing, just lightly, lightly fluffing).
- Add enough additional broth to get an evenly moistened (not drippy or gloppy) mix.
- If using as stuffing, use this mix to loosely stuff your bird (don't forget to stuff the front where the neck used to be - makes for a nice presentation as he/she cooks).
- Place remainder in lasagne pan (goal - no more than 2 inches thick in pan).
- Melt remaining 2 ounces of butter & mix with an additional cup of broth. Drizzle over pan of stuffing. Cover pan with tight-fitting aluminum foil & bake @ 325 degrees for 25 nminutes covered & 15 minutes uncovered for a nice crust - adding more broth along the way to prevent drying out (but do not want mush either).